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The Road Less Travelled

By Ven Dr Jue Wei

Benny: Can you share what attracted you to
Buddhism that you choose to become a monastic
instead of being just an ordinary lay practitioner?

Jue Wei: Thank you for this reflective question
which helped me to realize that my upbringing in
Singapore should not have led me to Buddhism,
let alone monasticism. I grew up in meritocratic
Singapore and was a product of its education system.
International scholarships bought my way to the USA to
study Computer Science and Engineering and then to
the UK for an MBA. My career matched with my love
of all things new and innovative. My favourite subjects
Venerable Dr. Juewei is an active member of the Fo were all secular, physics, mathematics, and any kind
Guang Shan Buddhist order and was tonsured under of physical sciences. I performed worst in English,
Venerable Master Hsing Yun. She is Head of art, literature, and anything to do with the humanities.
Program for Humanistic Buddhism (“HB”), Director
of the Humanistic Buddhism Centre, and Senior I found Buddhism later in life when I entered a tea
Lecturer at Nan Tien Institute (NTI) in Australia. house and discovered that all the books on display were
Venerable Juewei holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, written by a certain Venerable Master Hsing Yun. About
a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies, a Master of a year later, I found myself going on a pilgrimage to India
where I took the Five Precepts in Bodhgaya. In 2000,
Business Administration, and a Master of Science
I enrolled in a Buddhist College in the Fo Guang Shan
in Computer Science and Engineering. She has
(“FGS”) headquarters in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. There I took
worked on Artificial Intelligence systems and has
the bodhisattva precepts but to my horror, discovered
held management positions in Singapore’s statutory that I had to commit to vegetarianism. I remembered
bodies. She leads or co-leads international teams in arguing with my teachers that nothing in the vows said
projects such as Buddhism in the Sea of Islands, NTI that I had to be a vegetarian but the damage was done.
Visualiser, Journal on HB, Communities of Practice, So, when an ordination opportunity arose in FGS, I
Turning Points stories, Buddha’s Birthday Education decided that there was no other place that could cook
Project, as well as mobile apps and podcasts. Her better vegetarian meals than FGS and so, I decided that I
latest project is co-organizing an international had to leave home. So, what made me a Buddhist and a
Symposium on Humanistic Buddhism. In this nun? Food!
interview with Benny Liow for Eastern Horizon,
Venerable Dr. Juewei shares her inspiring thoughts On a more serious note, why would an achievement
and adventures with loving-kindness. “addict” with doting parents give up everything to
become a Buddhist monastic? After hearing Venerable
Thubten Chodron describe her path to Buddhism, I
think that, like her, it has to be past life karma. Under
normal circumstances, I would have put together a cost-
benefit analysis and done lots of planning which would